I Am Frightened
“Trump is morphing DHS into his private little rogue, secret army.”
— Paul Rosenzweig, a senior policy official at the DHS during the George W. Bush administration.
With Trump sending his army into cities with Democratic mayors. I know the chaos he thinks will put him back in the White. He’s looking for 1968 to happen all over again. I am sure of it.
I believe there will be attacks against this alien army – triggered by one of Trump’s people with a belly filled with Kool Aid. They will put on a hippie tee-shirt and start a riot.
I am frightened.
Where are all the Republican voices against big government or secret police? Did they all turn into crickets?
I saw the look of pleasure on Trump’s face when he walked across the street to pose for a picture, injuring people so he could look important in front of the military men he drug with him.
It scared me.
where are the jade helm 15 conspiracy folk?
1-The secret army is no secret.
-Massive numbers of people dying of Covid because the dementiadent allows it is no secret.
-Wall Street rolling in hundreds of billions while smiling like a herd of cheshire cats is no secret.
Its all out there in plain sight. For me it was the quiet after he put children in cages. Tepid anger that achieved zip in the face of autocracy.
2I am scared, too, JJ, and my dad who served in WWII and my mother who prayed for him to come home are spinning in their graves.
3Why wait for a Kool Aid drinker when they can plant their own “terrorist protestor?”
In the ‘60’s my friend joined a campus anti war group. There was one guy who consistently called for violent attacks against people and property. He was always voted down. Later they found out he worked for the police department.
Another time at a rally a student recognized an undercover agent dressed as a hippie in the crowd. The young man walked up behind the cop, yanked off his wig – – and within seconds, 5 or 6 other “hippies” jumped the kid, beat the crap out of him and everyone close by.
They had the fake long hair wigs, but weren’t interested in the peace & love.
4This scares me a lot. Have to wonder where all the 2A folks are hiding. Isn’t this what they keep saying we need 2A for in the first place, to protect us from government thugs? Oh, wait, never mind. Just hypocrisy as usual. Move along, nothing to see here.
5By now, your readers have heard about what’s going on in downtown Portland. Let me add some context and local perspective from someone that lives in the area (for over 30 years).
6Oregon has a very white supremacist history. While the Portland metropolitan area is a progressive liberal area, much of Oregon is Trumpland. Over the last 20 years, there have been many racist violent incidents ranging from intimidation to death, even in liberal Portland. Since the murder of George Floyd, the incidents have actually increased. Citizens of this part of Oregon and especially people of color have lived with and been frustrated about racism for a long time.
Peaceful protesters (of all races, religions and backgrounds) have been marching with the Black Lives Matters message for the last 8 weeks every day in several areas of metropolitan Portland. The worst things they did were stay out after the curfew and block a few streets and bridges. At the same time, some protesters have been angry enough to show frustration by damaging public buildings, especially the courthouse and some police buildings and vehicles. This is a very small number of people vs the peaceful protesters and a small area of Portland. Mixed in with these protesters have been a variety of trouble makers like the boogaloos and white supremacist groups with the intention of starting a fight and damaging property. Local government authorities were probably inflaming protesters for a while with teargas and “non-lethal” munitions. The city and police finally backed off and while some aggressive protesters remained in a small part of downtown, things were quieting down. Then Trump steps in.
He sent in his federal troops and immediately escalated the situation into a more violent confrontation. The G men quickly aimed their munitions at peaceful protesters sending one to the hospital with a serious head injury. The last few nights, 100’s of moms have begun forming a line between the peaceful protester and the Feds. The Feds have been using tear gas and flash bang grenades against them. They use unmarked vans to jump out and arrest (basically kidnap) protestors.
Make no mistake, this power play is just another campaign message and he uses Fox “News” to air his campaign message daily. I’m not sure how this will end, but it’s playing well with his base and distracting attention from the tragic and growing Coronavirus pandemic. He sees Portland as an easy target to bully. He could give a shit about the citizens of Portland.
So, everyone should be scared as they’ll be coming to a city near you.
Steve @5:
7I hope you and yours stay safe.
And thanks for the perspective..
8I know it’s not politically correct to compare Drumpf to Hitler,
9these guys sound very much like Gestapo or Storm Troopers and Herr Drumpf is as wacko as Adolph. How can this be stopped ASAP? Forget the Justice Dept., the FBI and Homeland Security. Drumpf has his minions installed. Supreme Court?
I’d like to offer an alternative re: donaldo pinosheet;
businessman-cum-bust, cum-horsehead-in-his-bedsheets, (probably sooner than later) TV-cum-bust-cum-pee-pee boy.
We know his motive is to scare voters away from the polls. He has a lawsuit target on his back already due to his Stasi showgirls without badges. Quite impressive for a scared little boy…
Oh, wait we’re the ones who are afraid. NO! we’re the ones who are angry. See that link down there? 104+ days and counting. Can anyone imagine Oregon plus 48 states dumping on his little dictator starter kit?
https://logwork.com/countdown-3p6
ps. J.J. your going to spill hot coffee on your keyboard or lap. Not to worry… Its only Ann Richards giving you a wake up call.
10In 2001 when Shrub announced the creation of DHS, my mother looked up from the TV and stated “That is a direct translation from the German.”
11She should know, she lived under Hitler in Vienna for 7 years.
I had an underground newspaper during Vietnam, We had many “infiltrators” sent to our offices by the local police, sheriff, and the FBI. We were the “Natural”, in Spokane.
12Not rumors or paranoia: the FBI plant turned on them. He was a First Nation, son of the local Indian Affairs bureaucrat. He was burned by napalm ferreting out VC in a tunnel when his own team blasted the tunnel with a flamethrower, maybe by accident. He didn’t think so. He kept ELABORATE journals of his time with us. The FBI rejected the journals as made up, and accused him of being subverted. So he did. Gave us the journals. We edited them for names, etc and sent them all over the country. By courier. Our friend the postman told us the mail was being opened by the Post Office.
So have fun with Portland, and VOTE!
Watching the events in Portland is enraging and depressing.
As Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes”.
Portland is starting to rhyme with what happened in Spain in the 30s. Multiple groups started to align into two combatant groups. On one side the Republicans (Soviet Union,France, Mexico, International Brigade, etc) Vs the Nationalists (Italy, Germany, Catholic Church). This is the time and place where the German army worked out war techniques that would later become known as “blizkrieg”. Trump’s administration seems to be working out and testing techniques that will allow him to use federal forces to enforce Personal domestic political policies on US soil. Clever as this experiment might roil US society enough to give him a shot at taking the election AND equip him with additional tools for use post election. I would not count on the 2A types Including a significant number of Republicans to say anything except align with Trump’s Troops. I wouldn’t waste any mental energy Or any energy waiting for an awakening amongst that group..
What no one wants to say is that if Trump wins with these techniques, there may not be a another clean and free election in the US for a while.
The Nationalists held power in Spain until the 70s. Of course, the Nazis were thrown out in Germany in the 40s but that took a World War to effect.
Trump’s lasting affect on US society may be his accumulation of a cadre of people around him who do NOT believe in a peaceful transition of power. As a society, we will pay the price for this long after he is gone.
13maryelle @9:
14With all due respect to the idea of trying to take the high road with respect to civility, IMHO the comparison to Hitler is not just accurate, but totally righteous.
This is the guy who’s taken the Rush Limbaugh rhetoric of liberals being evil, unAmerican Communist traitors to the mainstream. Multiplying it by orders of magnitude. Gleefully inciting hatred and violence against people like us. Back during the 2016 campaign I said how I’d always wondered how the German people had been brainwashed enough to follow Hitler, but wondered if I was witnessing the modern equivalent in real time.
I also hopefully prophesized that it would ultimately be a painfully healthy thing by exposing something that needed light shone on it, and we’d better off in the long run.
I was a fool.
The only thing wrong with your comparison to Hitler is that it’s too kind.
In echoes of Nazi Germany and autocrat attitudes, I find myself thinking back to his statement that Mein Kampf was the bedside reading on his nightstand for years.
I know it is hard to believe he really reads, but I think it is all part of the extreme narcissism and his adoration of “strong men.” He wants the praise and adoration, the extreme loyalty, and I do think his model is Hitler.
15maryelle @9 & P.P. @14, I have to disagree with your comparisons to Hitler. Hitler’s evil and megalomania were unique to history and are best left alone. Godwin’s Law applies.
I am aligned with Mel @13. The better comparison is with Franco and Mussolini. Ordinary fascists bent on accumulating power and money. Wicked and violent when necessary, but tolerant of anyone who bows to the Leader and knows their place.
As blogger Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station) has written, Americans must be ready to crawl through glass in order to vote and save this democracy.
16bear in mind, ICE/etc., are but a smidgeon, by comparison to the armed forces, and the leaders of those armed forces seem way less than enthusiastic, with respect to Trump as Dear Leader.
17Bill F. @16:
18You make a good point about f**king trump’s comparison to Hitler and Godwin’s Law. And I get it. Hitler was horrifically unique in history. But I would remind you that he was Chancellor for 6 years before he invaded Poland. trump’s only had 3 2/3 years to leave his mark.
And he’s doing his best to catch up.
Mike @ 11:
I had the same thought when Bush started touting the word, “Homeland” around. In Nazi Germany the terms “Fatherland” and “Homeland” were used interchangeably.
Then, when Bush started torturing people, I knew we were headed toward a totalitarian state. I didn’t expect to arrive so quickly, though, especially after we elected Obama. I guess I should have expected this backlash. but I didn’t.
19We need to all vote in November, and the straight D ticket. No excuses, none. My health situation is significantly compromsed currently by carotid surgery, open heart surgery, and diabetes, but I WILL VOTE IN PERSON.
Why take a chance on the mail? Or county officials doing their legally required duty? Or many, many , more myrid ways to disenfranchise me?
I. WILL. VOTE. IN. PERSON, no matter how long it takes.
20Nov and the next few election cycles will be interesting. If many rePUKEian aholes remain in place or if the trumpig looses but has a large vote nothing much will change. As Biden will not have the backing to do much and the red states will stay red and bigoted. Voting in all instances as Democrat-progressive-socialist is the only way to get things back on the road to a balanced government. Kill off the electoral college dinosaur, and put in place controls to make ALL election financing open to public sight, and any financing that is found to be under the table automatically eliminates that candidate for life!!
21Until that is done, bend over, spread them, and hope it wont hurt much … the Portland thing is just the start!
Sorry Juanita Jean, it’s not 1968 that Trump wants to repeat…it’s 1934.
22Steve, that was very informative to say the least Many, many years ago there was an early morning protest march (Viet Nam War) that actually cost the police commissioner his job inasmuch as when the cops swarmed in they did not take care to differentiate between the protesters and all the government people on their way to work. High ranking government lawyers ended up in a huge chain link “bull pen” along with protesters. When these lawyers managed to get themselves out, they raised unholy Hell on the D.C. police force. Karma will get you every damn time!
23Me again. JJ, please do not be afraid. Its a normal reaction but it might be better to save that emotion for another time and reason. The Detritus from Hell in the White House is losing his grip on the R’s on the Hill. This may very well be the last mistake he ever makes with that party. Yes, you are correct if you guessed Romney among them. And the “them” is getting more numerous and verbose every day. I think the Lincoln Project is going to pick up a huge bunch of support by ht eend of this month.
24Not all the Lincoln project ads in the world are going to help if they steal the election. Which they are trying to do. Voter suppression? Check. Disparaging voting by mail and doing nothing to support it? Check. Changing the rules at the post office so that the mail is slowed down? Check.
25Godwin himself suspended Godwin’s law quite some time ago.
https://loonylabs.org/2020/06/19/day305-365doa/amp/
26Vic @25,
I took my primary ballot to an election drop box rather than the USPS. That how serious I am about getting my vote to count. If it comes down to appearing in person to vote, I’ll be there for as long as it takes. We must all vote.
I hope eventually the US will kill off the EC dinosaur, enact new laws about voter rights and campaign finance that will really hurt those who break the law.
27Hey, y’all…where are these feds staying in Portland? Who is providing them food? Isn’t it the same as providing comfort to the enemy?
28Joyce, good questions. I thought the same. There’s no Trump property so not sure. There’s Sondland properties. Maybe he’s trying to get back in Trumpf’s favor. Maybe they’re staying with police union members as there’s evidence they were involved in bringing them here. Same as in Chicago.
29We also don’t know where protesters taken into the black vans are being held.
Moms were tear gassed again last night.
Vote, Vote, Vote!!!!!!!!!
The Third Amendment to the Constitution is the one forbidding the quartering of troops in homes, so like Joyce I have wondered if this is a situation where the Third is applicable. There is no duty of hospitality to the military is what I take the intent to be. If hotels, citizens, shops on the street, by extension the city of Portland don’t want the mercenary militia there, they have the right to expel them.
This is a ghastly violation of the rights of citizens. I wish I were younger, I want to see the future of our Constitutional Republic preserved and I’ll fight to do it with my gray hair and titanium hip!
The woman who sat naked in the street is the bravest person I’ve seen since Tianammen Square.
30The liar-in-chief and his backers, Barr and company, are planning something nefarious for sure since they see that he’s down in the polls.
They would just love to instigate a violent response in cities (curiously led by Democrats only) and Bunker Boy would swoop in as the law and order president. Any violence could also provide them with an excuse to postpone the election or to instigate riots should he lose which looks likely at this point. It could also prevent people from voting in these likely democratic cities if it’s in the streets.
Whatever it is that they’re starting now with the secret forces, it cannot bode well.
31I wonder how the Portland federal thugs would like visitors to their quarters? They gotta sleep sometime. Just sayin
32The 2A boys (and they’re nearly *all* boys) know only one part of the Constitution, and they don’t know it all that well. So, asking them to stand up for any other part of it is like asking Combover Crime Lord to play the Star Spangled Banner by farting it out of his well-padded posterior. He’s actually probably more capable of doing that.
I’ve been afraid of the possibility of civil war practically since he took office. What’s going down in Portland looks like they’re setting the table for that. It just takes one incident, and there ya go. It’s Kristallnacht all over again.
33Maggie,
34Another undeniable truth is that Trump’s dementia is worsening. My dad died of Alzheimers and so many of the signs are right there in the orange one’s speech and mannerisms. The real question is, who is in charge? He’s just a confused, mean old man puppet- who’s really making these decisions.
Make every effort to vote IN PERSON!
https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/how-trump-is-trying-to-rig-the-election-right-before-our-eyes/
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